Daughter of ZeusHades' invitation
by Soleil Artemis Lumiere
Summary: The story takes place six years after The Last Olympian story, about a daughter of Zeus who by unknown reason was being hunted by Hades.
1. Hades's invitation EDITED

_I decided to start this story all over. There are several changes, so even though you might have read it, I hope you would read this new version as well. Please read and review!_

"Welcome to Bradley Academy, Miss Skye! We are very glad to have you as a part of our school and we hope you will enjoy your time here," the overexcited headmistress greets me enthusiastically. What a bore.

"I leave her to your care, Mrs.—" my stepfather, Dexter Skye, is exchanging pleasantries with the headmistress, but he doesn't seem too keen of it. He doesn't even remember the headmistress's name. I even doubt he remembers my name.

"Eisenhower, Mr. Skye. You don't need to worry. Your daughter is in good hands, we will make sure she gets what she needs in our school!" I don't know what makes this hag so ecstatic. The stepdaughter of number six most influential businessmen according to BBC enrolls to her school. So what?

I don't even enroll here with good circumstances. If I hadn't been expelled from my school at L.A., I wouldn't even enroll. If I were you, Mrs. Eis-something, I wouldn't be too happy to accept a drop out. Especially a drop out with ADHD and dyslexia.

"Very well, then," Dexter stands up and walks to the door, "I have to leave for now. Good morning."

_I have to leave for now. Good morning._ That's all Dexter's got to say. No 'good luck', no 'take care', no 'we'll miss you at home', no 'nothing'. That's just the way he is, cold. He's always been too generous when it comes to a few bucks for a new video game, but he's the stingiest man on earth when it comes to words.

"Well, now, Miss Skye, let me give you a little tour around the school. You will like it! Let's go!"

If my mother had been here, things would have been different. She would have comforted me for having to stay away from home until summer, she would have told me how she would miss having me around, she would have at least kissed me goodbye, unlike a certain ultra-rich businessman she married only a few days after my real father died.

It's not like I know who my real father is. He just doesn't seem real. Nobody's ever talked about it. Mom and Dexter never quarreled about him like other couples from second marriage do. Maybe Mom never liked him at all. Maybe Dexter is just too indifferent to fight with Mom. One thing about Dexter, he cares about nothing.

"Miss Skye!"

If only that freaky thing had never happened to me, I wouldn't have to come to this freaky school with freaky headmistress.

"Miss Zeta Skye! Where are you going?"

If only I could just run back home. If only I hadn't been like a million miles away from home. If only—

—GABRUK!

My head hits something hard and cylindrical, something made out of steel. It happened so swift I couldn't record what was happening, and then I found myself slipping on something slimy and falling down.

"Ouch!" my buttock hurts. My head too, because of the cylindrical steel thing. I shake my head for a second, and then I look up. A scary middle-aged woman is staring down at me furiously.

"I-I'm sorry!" I say at once. I don't really know what to do. Where the hell is the headmistress anyway? I'm the one with ADHD, she's not the one who should be forgetting my presence and trailing away on her own subconsciously.

"That—" the old lady is still glaring at me like a lioness glaring at her prey, "—is lunch of 500 hungry students, kid."

That time I realize what the slimy thing I slipped on is a thick cream soup. Not only have I fallen on it, but it's also sticking on my hair and jacket. My goodness, I hope this place has a laundry service. There's no way I can clean all this sticky stuff on my own. Then I remember about the scary woman I stumbled on. I see a glimpse of green flashing through her hawk-sharp eye.

It's kind of creepy. I could have thought she wasn't human at all.

"Miss Skye? What are you doing there? Let's keep walking!"

Now her eyes flash with red. I must have started having delusion again. This is not the first time I see weird things like this.

"Miss Skye!" I don't notice the voice until I feel someone shaking my shoulder. It was the headmistress, Mrs. Eis-something. I can't recall her name, "Oh, my, we need to get you cleaned, what happened here, Mrs. Langley?"

"This little girl bumped her head into my soup pot, Mrs. Eisenhower, and now the soup is everywhere. Now that you're here, I bet you can handle it, can't you? I had better leave and replace the soup, if you'd excuse me. Five hundred hungry students would be furious," then the old scary-looking woman leaves with no more fuss.

The next thing that follows is a never-ending speech from the headmistress that is too insignificant to pay attention to.

"I know you are _different_, Miss Skye, but you really should try to pay attention—"

Yeah, right. Do you remember why I am _different_? I suffer from attention deficit disorder. How can you ask me to pay attention?

"Here is your room, Miss Skye," suddenly we stop in front of a room in a dorm-like building, "Uh, you had better clean yourself up. Lunch will be ready in half an hour, maybe later considering the soup incident just now, but everyone should gather in the hall at seven. I will come to see you five minutes to seven because I must introduce you—"

When is this woman going to stop talking? I'm sick of it already. If you were me, you would have felt the same way too.

Some time later that feels like forever, Mrs. Eis-something leaves me with a key. Finally!

I instinctively put the key into the keyhole of the door in front of me. The door opens. I enter and turn on the light. The bedroom looks neat, but the neatness won't last if I were to stay here any longer. At least I don't have to share with some wacky strangers. My baggage's already inside. How did it get here anyway? Well, that's not important.

I've got to shower. The soup stain is drying. If I'm not fast, it won't come off.

I hear a knock at twelve fifty-five. I find the overexcited headmistress behind the door, "Are you ready for meal, Miss Skye?"

"Oh, okay," I nod. Then I follow her out of the dorm building as she hums another preach about mealtime.

The dining hall is loaded with so much people that I feel dizzy. Everyone's stuffed in here, from a three-year-old runny nosed kid from kindergarten to way-too-old-to-be-in-senior-year-but-stays-anyway guys. Not only that, this place looks like chaos. Some were screaming, chatting, gambling, and food-throwing at each other and nobody seems to mind. Not even the headmistress. She just grabs a mike, doing her best to introduce me to the whole lot of barbarians—I doubt any single soul listen to her—then left me to rot.

Well, not only chaotic, Bradley is not famous with nice welcome to new students too, to be honest. Bradley is pretty nasty to new students like me.

See, a pig-like boy—at a glance I almost believed he had snout—made me spill all my supper I had dared myself to ask from the demon-eyed Mrs. Langley I'd crashed into back in the hallway at my very first meal at Bradley by stretching his fat leg in my way. Now I have to go back to the extra long line-up for meal.

After twenty minutes queuing, creepy Mrs. Langley the cook gives me another death glare.

"I thought you had had your share for breakfast," she snaps at me with her high-pitched voice that hurts my ears a bit.

"I-I'm sorry, Ma'am! I spilt mine and I... I was walking and I fell, I mean someone made me fall and spill my meal, so...," Mrs. Langley's glare is piercing through me that my knees tremble.

"I don't care about what happened to your meal, but you've had it once and you can't get extra! I don't care if you spill it, eat it, or give it to ants, but you can only have one, case closed! Now, please leave since there is still a long line to go!"

I am forced to leave the dining room with empty, screaming stomach.

I am aiming at the door at the far end of the room and go to the dorm. The same pig who ruined my food threw his smelly soup-filled Styrofoam cup straight on my head. He should've known better. There's no way anybody could soak my head in that soup for the second time and get away with it. I glare at him this time.

"Ooh, scary!" he stands up in front of me and glares back. He sneers and punches me on the nose down to the floor.

Oh, bugger. How dare he punch a GIRL on the face! Hasn't he ever taught any manner? My hand instinctively reaches my nose. I see a glimpse of red when I pull off. Shit, my nose bleeds.

The loud crackling laugh of the piggy boy and his nasty friends rings in my ear. Of course I'm not going to whimper like a spoiled little girl and let them win. I wipe my face from any trace of blood and stand up. Those big kids seem to be surprised to see me rise at ease.

"What a manner!" I talk back at them coolly, "I can definitely see you rot like an old sod in the future. You've made a good start."

"—You!" the piggy boy's face looks flustered, angry, and funny at once. I bet no one's ever talked back at him before. I bet he thinks he can bully his way through and no one will ever stand up against him.

I'm so going to prove him wrong.

I see his punch coming my way again. I prepare myself to dodge it. One, two, three…

Why isn't it coming?

I look up and see long skinny fingers holding the piggy boy's wrist.

"You guys can wrestle as much as you like, but try to pick on someone your size," said the owner of those fingers which happens to be a towering skinny boy with jet black spiky hair. The dark shadow beneath his dark eyes stands out against his pasty white skin.

"I-I'm sorry! P-please let me go! I'm really really sorry!" the piggy boy whines. I notice all his friends have returned to their seats and dig into their meal. That skinny boy must be something.

The fingers around piggy boy's wrist loosen, "Go eat, then. If I found you starting fight with little hamsters again, I'll show you how they feel when you beat them up!"

The skinny boy might scare a big bully, but I have something to say to him, "What do you mean by 'little hamster'?" I give him an unappreciative look.

"Now, girl," he turns to me, "If I were you, I would stay away instead of messing around with those bullies. You're lucky I noticed this little mess at once. There are a lot of cases where wimpy kids like you have to be sent home for further medical treatment!"

I make a smug smile, "I guess that's a good thing. I don't think I'd rather stay here for long. Being sent home would be great."

"So you think broken skull would be great, huh? Do as you please, then. I'd like to see how long you can stand it," he smiles cynically and starts to walk away. I stop him, "For your information, I've blasted bullies twice the size of that pig," in a real weird and unnatural way, that's the thing that got me expelled. I don't even know if I will have such 'luck' again, "You're acting you're the king around here. Who the hell are you anyway?"

The skinny guy looks back, "I'm Elvis Lacroix, the prefect. Or the Nemesis, as they call me."

With that, he's lost from my sight.


	2. Chapter 2

I've decided that I don't like Bradley at all. It doesn't look like a school at all. It's more like a den of outlaws. It's obvious that no one has taught any manners to any of those unruly kids. I wish Mom could come here and see what a mess this place was. She'd definitely bring me home. No, I won't wish Dexter were here. It's not like he'd care. As long as I don't get in his way, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't care even though I had killed someone or done something extreme like that. And what's the use of a prefect? All he did was threatening. And underestimating me.

Suddenly, a young boy's voice comes from my side, "Elvis didn't really mean it, you know."

"D-did I say it out loud?" I respond impulsively and turn. I found a sweet-looking boy at about my age sitting beside me on the bench in front of the dining hall. Wait, he's a boy, isn't he? Or am I mistaken? This dude is pretty enough to be a girl… I mean, he/she/whatever might even be prettier than me, with curly fair hair, big shining eyes, and sweet smile and all…

The boy/girl smiled again, "El might be a bit harsh with words, but his intention was good. You really shouldn't mess around with Bradley bullies unless you are confident you can throw them across the room."

"Well, he didn't have to indicate that because I'm small, I wouldn't be able to throw those pigs across the room," okay, I can't. But he didn't need to put it so candidly, did he? I mean, he's not that well-built at all, but those bullies whined at the sight of him. Then he's not the one to talk about size matter.

"Can YOU really do that? That's awesome!" oh no, it doesn't sound good, "My name's Charlie, by the way."

"I'm Zeta," I reply, "Pardon me for being rude. Are you a boy or a girl?"

That moment, Charlie laughs REAL hard.

"You're like the hundredth person to ask that question!" Charlie tries to speak amidst his laughter.

"I'm serious!"

"I'm serious too. I'm a guy. It's not my fault to be this pretty!" Charlie laughs again.

Maybe because laughter is like an epidemic, I join him. We both laugh like two crazy kids.

"So, are you friends with the prefect?" I ask my new acquaintance.

"Kind of, we went to the same camp last summer. He's real cool if you get to know him," Charlie replies, "So, how are you exactly going to throw those bullies across the room?"

"Oh, well, I just threw them away like this, and then they'd throw me even farther and out through the window!" I jest. I don't feel like telling Charlie how I burnt some bullies at my old school and got myself expelled. I'd rather keep it to myself for now.

Charlie makes a face, and then we burst into laughter again.

I guess I've found a friend for the first time since kindergarten.

***

When the lunch break ends, the overexcited headmistress led me to my first class at that horrible school. I've always been terrible in English, being dyslexic and all. The teacher made me read a verse from a certain Lord Moron (That's not his real name, I can't remember it. He's a famous poet from a hundred years old or some time around that, I guess.) And the letters seem to be flying around and I read it all wrong. But I'm not the only one who can't read properly. Charlie was also in that class (as well as most other classes I have) and he has dyslexia too, and most other kids are just too dumb to be able to read.

My first week at Bradley was horrible as I expected it would be. Fearing to be caught in the act by Elvis the prefect, the pig and his gang dare not confront me directly unless they are sure Elvis won't be around and have been pulling petty pranks on me most of the time; like hanging my shoes at the top of the flagpole (I have no idea who climbed all the way up there.), sneaking sugar into my nasty beef stroganoff for dinner, and cut off the water current when I was taking a bath (There's no private bathroom and the control of water distribution to bathroom stalls are kept in a separate room from the bathrooms.)

However bad it may be, the days at Bradley isn't much worse than my old school life. Now I have someone to talk to, which is a big improvement. I still miss my mother though, but it can't be helped.

Now I hang out with Charlie and the prefect. Like Char said, El really is nice despite the first impression. We had much time helping him scheming and executing pay-back pranks on the pig and the gang. That's how El earned his nickname, the Nemesis. He's the avenging god of Bradley. He pulls pranks on those who pulled pranks first; beat those who beat first, etc. In no time, everyone has developed some kind of fear when he's present. That's exactly why the headmistress made him prefect. Although he's from the junior high section, he's responsible for all parts of the academy. I shudder when I wonder how horrible Bradley was before Elvis. With him around, it's already so messed up. What if he hadn't been there?

A note about Charlie; his father is a pharmacist. He has been gone for long, but he left something for Charlie; a sleeping incense. Charlie told me his father invented a kind of liquid perfume that evaporates very easily. Whenever someone inhales it, it would make one feel sleepy. If inhaled in larger amount, that person would fell to sleep at once. Charlie's sleeping incense is quite famous among Bradley students although the teachers have the slightest idea about it. The incense is often used during Spanish class. The teacher, Miss Kidjo, is deadly boring. So Charlie would just open the perfume bottle near her and she would fell asleep; granting free time for the wild students to do as they please. It's justifiable. It's either forcing the teacher to sleep or letting the whole class drowse out of boredom.

Like this morning.

Once Miss Kidjo falls asleep, Charlie is going to throw the glass bottle containing the incense into his pocket. But a mousy faced boy snatches it away and throws it to the pig.

"Give it back!" Charlie yells.

"You don't think I'd give it so easily, do you, pretty boy?" Mr. Pig makes an evil sneer.

"Give it back, I say! Or else—"

"Whoa! You're threatening! Fetch it yourself, pretty boy!"

Charlie hastens towards Mr. Pig and tries to get his perfume back, but Mr. Pig keeps dodging him.

"Beat me up and you'll get your perfume back! But I think you won't dare, sissy!" teases the Mr. Pig.

The class cheers and provokes Charlie.

"I'M NOT A SISSY!" feeling insulted, Charlie glared. This is the first time I've seen him so angry. He has always been calm and faced everything with a smile! I feel like I should throw myself into the fight and help him, but what am I going to do? No, I can't actually defeat such a big bloke by myself. The last time was something weird, an unnatural phenomenon, and it's so not going to happen a second time.

But what should I do? Sitting back and watch definitely is not the right option.

"Oh? Really? I think only girls who bring along perfume in their pockets!"

How sexist is that? I am girl but I don't bring perfumes.

How can I think about stupid things at a time like this? Stupid ADHD.

Charlie is very mad now. He decides to fight the Mr. Pig and attack his shoulder. Mr. Pig yields easily. Elvis would be able to hit this jerk easily, but Charlie is no fighter.

Now I despise myself even worse. Mr. Pig is punching Charlie fiercely, yet I'm still standing here, doing nothing. Can't I do something? Charlie is being hit very badly but I can only watch! What kind of person am I?

"Aaargh!" Charlie screams as Mr. Pig hits his ribs. I can't just stand here! I should do something!

"...the incense..."

The incense!

While Mr. Pig is distracted, I can sneak behind him and get the incense, then I can give it to Charlie, and then he can uncap it and voila! The pig will surely collapse. How could I be so stupid for not thinking of that? I immediately slip among the crowd and find myself behind Mr. Pig.

How can I get the incense? It's in Mr. Pig's hand! How can I get it without him noticing? Why didn't I consider this before?

Okay, I'm already here and I can't step back. I'll get the incense by all means!

So I try to snatch the incense the hard way.

"What do you think you are doing, punk?" the Mr. Pig turned to me, preparing his fist to hit me. I'm cornered. I'm doomed. This is going to hit hard.

I shut my eyes out of fear. What would become of me after this, I don't know. Everything goes so fast. I hear a loud rumble of thunder in my ear. I open my eyes and found Mr. Pig burnt after being hit by indoor thunder.

I do it again.

It's like what I said. It was a very peculiar phenomenon. Indoor thunder, it's impossible isn't it? This is exactly the same as what happened at the old school. I was threatened, and... and I really wished I could kill off that bully—the one who's twice the size of Mr. Pig—and the lightning hit him. That's exactly what I told everyone, but no one believed me but Mom. But a mother always believe everything their kid says most of the time, right? The teachers only accused me for attacking that bully with a stun gun. I didn't even have a stun gun! But they had seen me as a real big trouble and would do anything to kick me out.

The next thing I know is the Mr. Pig was falling, and the bottle in his clutch fell and broke to pieces.

The sweet odor spreads through the room. I feel limp and sleepy. My eyelids are falling and everything fades to black.


	3. Chapter 3

_This part is pretty much like the old version of Hades's Invitation from the part where Zeta woke up after the broken incense incident to the time El tried to cut Z with celestial bronze. But there are some deleted parts and several editing since Z wasn't supposed to know the truth about her friends. Anyway, enjoy reading!_

"Zeta!"

I am surrounded with sweet smell. This smell gets stronger and stronger that it disturbs me so much. I am forced to open my eyes.

"Umm..."

"Zeta! I'm so glad you wake up!"

I saw Charlie, all black and blue, yet smiling so wide that he makes me think I'm the best thing in his life.

"...What happened?" I sit myself up. My body hurts from lying on the rough stone floor.

"Nothing serious, don't worry! The bottle broke and the incense spilt, so everyone fell asleep. Well, there might be a little problem since the headmaster came right when your thunder hit the pig and fell asleep after the odor spread, but this place is used to trouble... er... don't you think so?" Charlie explains things cheerfully, but sounds doubtful at the end of his explanation.

What did he say just now? When your thunder hit? I thought it was just a dream!

Well, I'm in more serious trouble than Charlie might think! If the headmaster saw the thunder, what will happen to me then? Will I be expelled again like last time? No way, I've just felt being welcomed for the first time. I have El and Charlie here, no matter how nasty Bradley is. I don't even mind the Pig anymore, but leaving Bradley would mean the I would have to be alone again! I don't want it! No way! It's not fair! I don't even know what brings the thunder, but they can't take me away from my companions!

Suddenly my eyes burst into tears.

"H-hey! Zeta, what happened?" Charlie seemed panicked, I am not so sure since my view is blurred by teardrops. Somehow I also see a black, skinny figure on the open door.

"Charlie, Z! What's on?" I recognize Elvis's voice at once, "I was in the crazy headmistress's office when a kid from your class rushed in and told me you were fighting, Char, then the headmaster left and told me to wait, but she didn't come back so I came here! Tell me, why's everyone asleep?"

"Oh, it's just... Well," I notice Charlie glancing at me.

"_W_hat's with you, Z?" Elvis approached us. God, he's going to laugh at me now, seeing me crying like this, "Since when you're a crybaby? I thought you're so keen on acting tough."

I glare at him, annoyed, "I'm NOT a crybaby," I know El was just trying to make me laugh, yet my temper isn't in the mood of tolerating his sarcasm.

"Hey, I'm not serious! Just tell me what happened, okay?"

Charlie retells the story to El, then glancing at me again, "As for Z..."

I give a glare that shuts their mouths. I can't let them know I'm crying because I'm afraid I'd be expelled and lose them, can I? No way, they'll definitely laugh at me. Especially El. He's so going to laugh real hard.

"Char, when do you think these guys would wake up?" asks El.

"In a few minutes, I set it so."

"Then you had better rush to the infirmary to avoid suspicion, you're all bruised, you know! As for you, Zeta, you can help me make up something for the headmaster, right? I am supposed to be ignorant, you know."

"Yeah, sure," I nodded, "Hey, Charlie."

"Yes?"

"About your bottle..."

"Oh, it's okay really! I guess I'll take care of this mess for a while before going. Why don't you guys go ahead?"

"Let's go, Z," El drags me away.

"Well, see you later then."

As we walk away, I turn back towards Charlie for a while. Is it just my stupid hallucination, or did I just see the shattered bottle pieces fly and reform a complete bottle in Charlie's hand?

"Uh..."

"How are you feeling, Ma'am?" I ask the headmaster as she wakes up.

"What happened? I'm supposed to be in the 6th grade Spanish class...," says the headmaster.

"Zeta said you fainted in the class, so she brought you here, do you have anemia, Ma'am?" Elvis backs me up.

"I thought... I thought I saw... There was a fight in your class, right? And then... Then there was a thunder..., then I felt sleepy...," the headmaster inquires me.

"Oh, you must have been dreaming, Ma'am. George Cline took away Charlie Mitchell's stuff. When Charlie wanted to get his stuff back, Cline hit him. That's all. There was nothing like thunder, Ma'am! Not in a nice weather like this!" yeah, George Cline is Mr. Pig's real name (you can't be thinking that his birth name is Mr. Pig, can you?)

"You're right, Miss Skye. Thank you for the help by the way. How are the kids doing now? They are not fighting anymore, right?"

"No, Ma'am, but Charlie was hurt pretty bad so I sent him to the infirmary. Everything is under control!"

"You can return to your class now, Miss Skye," said the headmaster, "—and would you mind calling Mr. Cline for me?"

"I mind," what am I saying?

"Excuse me"

"I-I mean... Of course, I don't mind, Ma'am. I'll get him now, if you'd excuse me," wait, I think someone need to gag the Mr. Pig first!

"Uhm, Ma'am?"

"Yes, Miss Skye?"

"I think you shouldn't be too hard on George Cline," I can't believe I'm saying that. Even Elvis looks surprised, "It's normal, I mean, boys are always naughty, aren't they? He has got detention from Miss Kidjo anyway..."

"Really? I though Miss Kidjo never gives detention."

Whoops, "This time she does, Ma'am. I believe Cline's cleaning the rest room now."

"Wow, maybe I'll call for him later. You may leave, Miss Skye! I still have something to do with Mr. Lacroix," the headmaster shoos me away.

It takes an effort to ensure everyone that there was nothing like indoor thunder, and that narcolepsy disease was spreading in class so everyone fell asleep (I was jesting, JESTING! Of course they know about Char's potion). Once the class is settled, I run to the infirmary to check on Charlie and Mr. Pig. There I find the Mr. Pig hides behind his blanket at the sight of me, crying for his mamma like a wimp.

"I have a superpower," I threaten him, "—and I won't hesitate using that on you again if you dare speak a word about it! Not a word, not even for the headmaster, you got it?"

"...Y-yes... j-just don't do it... no..."

I feel like laughing hard. I can see Charlie from the corner of my eyes, trying to keep himself from laughing, "One more thing."

"If you mess up with me and my friends, I think you know what you'll get!"

"Y-yes... I-I will not disturb you again... I-I p-promise..."

I copy his sneer and leave the infirmary with Charlie. We meet Elvis on the way, "Three cheers for our big liar!" he punches my shoulder likely.

"Hey, don't call me that!" I talk back at him.

"You should have seen her giving the headmaster a piece of her mind, Charlie!" Charlie laughs a little as he listens to El, "And you haven't seen her threaten that big idiot. By the way, I think you owe me an explanation about your 'superpower', don't you think so, Z?"

I tell them what happened at my old school, then what happened with Mr. Pig, "It happened just like that... I have no idea what the hell it was!"

El and Charlie exchange looks, "You don't happen to have the same though with me, do you?" Charlie says to El. Elvis smiles at him, then they both burst into laughter.

"What?" I ask.

"Hey, Zeta," El pats my shoulder as he laughs, "I think, no, we think that you're maybe one of us!"

"What do you mean?" What are they laughing at?

"I'm trying to tell you that you might be a half-blood too."

Half-blood? What the hell are they talking about?

"El, try your pen-knife," said Charlie.

"You're right, Char!" El pulls a bronze pen-knife from his pocket.

"W-What are you going to do, El? Put it away!" I panic.

"It's okay, Z, this is celestial bronze. It won't hurt you at all if you are mortal, but well, if our guess is right, then it might hurt. Don't worry, though, it will only be a small scratch!"

Mortal? I don't get a word what they are talking about. The way El say it, it's almost as if he and Charlie aren't 'mortal'. Are they some kind of vampire or something like that? Something 'immortal'?

But that kind of thing only exists in stories, right?

El gently pulls my hand and makes a small cut on my fingertip, a drop of blood sneak out of the cutting, "Ouch!"

"Are you okay, Z? Sorry, I—"

"It's alright. Just. Explain. What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On."

Charlie gives Elvis a look, then they both smirk, "It turns out our guess is right after all."


	4. Chapter 4

Elvis and Charlie told me I was a half-blood, a demigod, half god half human. And they were demigods too. Elvis is the son of the goddess of revenge, Nemesis, and Charlie's dad is Morpheus, the god of dream, the one who made the sleeping incense—not his mom, apparently. All I can do is gape at them like an idiot. I mean, who wouldn't? That's practically the weirdest thing I've ever heard throughout my life.

"You've got to be kidding," I tell them with disbelief.

"We're not! You have to believe us," Charlie said.

Well, common sense won't let me believe them, but we all know Charlie is like the champion of being a good boy. Everyone would trust him without difficulty. He's REAL bad at lying. You can tell at once since he will become so restless and keep mussing with his hair.

He's not doing that. Mussing with his hair, I mean. There are only two possibilities; either he has learnt to take care of his 'flaw' or he is not lying at all.

"B-but… Greek gods and everything… they are just myth right? And the Olympus-on-New-York thing, it's impossible! How can a mountain fly on its own all the way from Greece to rest on the Empire State Building?"

"Olympus's just the way we refer to a place where the gods gather. We're not talking about the real mountain here! Well, it IS stupid to think a mountain can fly from Greece to New York," El adds.

"We're real serious, Z. You also once told us about seeing things no one else sees, right? It could have been some monsters or something like that. Ordinary people don't really see those things as they are," Charlie tries to convince me.

That is not the kind of logical answer I've been looking for, but so far, it's the most relevant. I mean nothing about me—those hallucinations and the thunder… nothing about them is the least logical, right? Why shouldn't I believe this Greek god stuff too?

And I'm getting tired of this lengthy debate over what's real and what's not. No good for my ADHD.

"Alright, I get it," even though I still can't believe a whit, I can just pretend I do, just to please El and Char and put an end to this little discussion.

It's lunchtime. The three of us are on our way to the cafeteria. I whine on the way, but Char and El are used to it. They can understand my anti-Mrs.-Langley syndrome, of course.

"I've always though that she is a monster in disguise, although I don't think monsters will stay put without attacking us THAT long," Charlie and Elvis often say. I don't think they really mean it, I mean, I think they're just trying to console me. However, something must be wrong with the canteen lady. I mean, she has never been the nicest person in Bradley and the way she looks at me is really scary! Even the look of someone who hates you most is better than Mrs. Langley look to me. What grudge does she hold on me? Is it because the crash on my first day at school? Because I ruined a whole pot of her yucky soup? Proverb says grudge over food is the worst grudge of all. But I think every single person on earth knows that it wasn't my fault! It's purely an accident!

The cafeteria is empty but for us and the canteen lady. El simply walks towards Mrs. Langley and asks where the others are.

"It's not my business," she answers with her squeaky voice, then looks at Charlie and El, "—but you two are expected to be in the headmaster's office."

"Thank you, Mrs. Langley, we'll go at once," Charlie tried to smile. The two of them leave the cafeteria, I follow.

"You stay here, Zeta Skye," Mrs. Langley squeaks again.

What? Me? Should I stay here alone with her? No way! Not in a thousand years!

Yeah, El and Char leaves, I stay in the cafeteria.

"Zeta Skye, identity confirmed," Mrs. Langley gives me her nasty look and muttered the words in a foreign language. There's no way I might know this language, but I just understand, "It won't take long."

I saw the canteen lady's eyes blaze abnormally. Her wrinkled skin changes color from pale color to black, I mean, literally black. Black and greenish. I think it is black, greenish and scaly. It's very frightful. I see her hair transforms into raging fire that springs from her head. Her coat folds into big leathery wings and I think I saw fangs through her grimace.

Oh my God, El and Charlie MEANT it. Mrs. Langley is a monster.

"Ought to be destroyed before claimed...," the monster mutters the language again. She stretches her hand towards me, only it is no longer a hand. It's a claw, big scaly claw with knife-sharp long nails.

"HELP!!!" I scream. I am horrified. I try to escape her grasp and hide behind a table, but she gets my sleeve. I run, but I am no match as she rushes in lightning speed. She clutches my arm. She clutches it so hard that I scream. It hurts! I believe I see blood dripping from her clutch.

"Be obedient," she hisses, "You'll soon be welcomed in the Underworld..."

Underworld?

"...Your sacrifice will be well rewarded...," Monster—Mrs. Langley grins at me as her other scaly hand is stretched towards my neck. She is trying to strangle me.

I'm feeling that the end is drawing near. I am surely going to die. The images to people who are close to me are passing through my mind. My mother, El, Charlie, Dexter. Yes, even Dexter. If I were allowed to live, I would definitely be the nicest girl he had ever met, but I know I'm only a few steps towards the gate to hell.

I can't breathe! The monster strengthens her grasp as I'm gasping for air.

Adieu, Mom. I love you

Adieu, Dexter. Sorry for always being an annoying stepdaughter, but you're not helping at all anyway.

Adieu, El and Char. Even though we haven't known each other for long, having both of you as my friends are one of the best things in my life.

Adieu...

Lightning rumbles.

A voice raised in agony.

Am I dead?

I dare myself to open my eyes. Wishing I wouldn't scream if I found my self crossing River Styx of the Underworld. Or the bridge of one-seventh part of a hair strand that leads to heaven. Or wherever people go when they croak.

No, I'm not there yet. I know it from the blinding light that crosses my eyes. Once I'm adjusted to the brightness, I find myself still standing on the same spot as I did before, but instead of the monster before me, I see only golden dust on the floor.

Maybe I'm just a specter now. I look around for my corpse, but it is nowhere to be seen. Soon I feel my skin itches at the spots where Mrs. Langley has hurt me. Does ghost still feel injuries?

"Zeta!" it was Elvis's voice that pierces through my dead ears. I want to answer his call, but I know it's useless. He won't hear me. He won't even see me.

Do you think ghost can faint? 'Cause I feel like I'm fainting...

I find myself snuggled in warm, comfortable bed just like the one I have back at home. Have Hades given me a room in Elysium? At least I know I don't have to spend eternity in the crowded field of Asphodel or in torture in the field of Punishment where I might would meet so many Mrs. Langley-like creatures,

Gosh, now I even start to think as if that Greek-god bizarre Char and El talked about was real. But hey, that's the best explanation. How one's supposed to elaborate the ordeal that just led me to my end?

I feel my body being shaken. I see my mother's figure looking at me compassionately, "Mom?"

"Zeta, you're awake! Thank God!" Mom smiles so beautifully and gives me a bear hug.

"Ouch!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, dear," Mom lets me go, "I forget your injuries haven't recovered yet."

"Mom," I look at her intensely, maybe this is a dream, maybe this is the last time I can see Mom's joyous face, "You can touch me? I mean, you can see me?"

"Of course I can see you! I'm not blind, honey!"

"But... But I'm dead, ain't I?"

"You? Dead? What're you talking about? You are as alive as the liveliest person on earth!"

"But Mrs. Langley... Mrs. Langley turned into a monster and killed me! It can't be a dream, right?"

"You mean the Kindly Ones?" Mom's voice softened on the last two words, "It's okay. Your thunder struck her that time. Your friends brought you home and they are ready to protect us all if _they_ come back."

"I'm home? And Elvis and Charlie are here? My thunder?"

"Yes. Would you want me to call them? They would be glad to see you!"

Mom leaves to fetch Charlie and Elvis. Now I have a room to sort things out. First, I'm alive. I'm alive because the mysterious thunder strike happened again and hit Mrs. Langley—the Kindly One, that's what Mom called her, I believe? Then Charlie and El found me badly injured and found a way to bring me home. They are also staying here for the moment so they would be ready if any monster comes.

The next second I realize another thing. Mom DEFINITELY knows something about all this not-so-nonsense.

"Zeta!" the door flings open. Charlie and Elvis run in. Charlie hugs me and Elvis hugs us both, "You made us so scared, having been unconscious forever!"

"We thought you'd never come around anymore!"

"Both of you are right, Mrs. Langley wasn't human at all," I say.

"I have no idea why the Dead Men Lord's torturer would come and try to off you, Z," adds Charlie, "I hope we can find out more once we're at the camp."

"You seem so eager to be back to that place, Char," El throws his face. He starts acting sarcastic again.

"Admit it, El, it's safer than anywhere else!"

"Maybe you're right," El shrugs, "Or maybe you're wrong!"

"So you're leaving?" I ask.

"Yeah, but no," Elvis smirks, "Not without you, Z!"

"We'll leave for the camp as soon as you recover," Charlie adds.

"W-what camp?" I ask, confused.

"A training camp for demigods like us," Charlie replies, "Camp Half-Blood."


	5. Chapter 5

Camp Half-Blood. Heck, there is even a special summer camp that trains human-god hybrids to beat monsters into pulps. So that's how we are supposed to manage to take care of other Mrs. Langleys lurking around out there.

By the way, about Mrs. Langley, Elvis and Charlie said she was sent especially to assassinate me. How cool. I don't know I'm that important to be (almost) a victim of assassination. Creatures like Mrs. Langley are called the Furies, or to be more polite, the Kindly Ones. They are the torturers in the hell, the Underworld, whatever-they-call-it. The other thing is that the Kindly Ones only take order from Hades, the Lord of Underworld himself.

Which means the Lord of Underworld was _kindly_ inviting me to a one-way visit to his realm.

That alone sends chill down my spine.

"B-but why would Hades wants me dead? I mean—I don't even know him… or is that a bad reason why he should NOT want to kill me?"

"How should I know?" Elvis shrugs, "I don't consort with the Lord of the Dead."

"We sent a message to the camp for a little hint. Nico told us he's going to go down to Elysium to find out," Charlie explains.

"Nico who?"

"A mentor in the camp. He's the son of Hades. King of the Ghosts, you name it.," El says.

"K-King of the Ghosts?" I remark, surprised, "Do you mean he's a ghost or something?"

Elvis and Charlie won't answer me. All they do is laugh.

"Hey, what's funny here?" I complain.

"Sorry about that. No, Nico is not a ghost. It's just since he's the son of Hades, he can talk to ghosts and they will always do his bidding if he asks nicely," Charlie says in the middle of his laughter.

"Oh!" I sigh as I ogle El who is still laughing non-stop.

I hear a knocking on the door. It is Mom, "Dinner is ready, kids!"

I find Dexter waiting for us in the dining room. I force myself to greet him nicely. I still remember very well the promise I made in the desperation time. I promised I would be nice to him if I managed to stay alive. I'm alive, so I'll be nice.

Charlie and El exchange name with Dexter since this is the first time they meet. Dexter has just returned from San Francisco for business stuff. We have our meal in silence except for Mom's ringing voice telling Dexter about my misfortune at Bradley. I am amazed that he takes such unusual, crazy thing with such indifference. I mean, isn't he surprised at all? Even I who experienced it myself is still terrified about it, but he, an ordinary person—no offense—reacts to it as if it can happen wherever, whenever. A second later I realize something. Of course he looks so calm; he might have not listened to a word my mother said.

After the dinner, everyone leaves the dining room except Dexter, "Can I talk to you for a moment, Zeta?"

This is the first time Dexter asks like this. I mean, he never asks me questions. When I was a little girl, I used to get excited when Dexter was home; because he was so rarely home. I would tell him about my day and read him stories, but he only nodded in response that I doubted whether he listened or not. I tried to interest him for years until I'm tired of trying. Then I started avoiding only talked if I was forced to. He also cared less about it, but today he told me he wanted to talk to me. What's going on? He doesn't intend to kill me like Mrs. Langley, does he?

"Don't worry, I'm not a monster and I won't kill you like cook did."

What did he say?

So he listened after all!

Wait, there's another wrong thing of him. I think I see a smile.

Dexter smiles! I've never seen him smile before!

"I guess now you are aware of _what_ you are, don't you?" Dexter sounds serious again.

_What _I am, he means my being as half human and half god, "Yes."

"—and you realize that someone is trying to destroy you."

"Yes."

"Be careful, will you?"

What did he say? "What?"

"Just be careful."

Be careful? What does he mean? This is really going weird. The man before me is Dexter, but he's so not Dexter. I mean, Dexter I know won't say a word to me, really. I don't blame him much, I mean, who I am to him? I'm not his own daughter anyway; I'm just his wife's daughter. Yet today he smiled, and then he talks to me—although I found him conserving words as much as possible—and busying himself just to tell me to be careful!

This is more than all I have ever earned from him for years. All I have to do was get myself almost killed by a monster in disguise.

I feel like crying on the spot, but of course, I don't.

"Yeah, thanks," that was all I manage to say, I smile awkwardly then take my leave.

I've spent two whole weeks at home with El, Charlie, and Mom (Dexter doesn't count; he doesn't seem to be more than a specter to us, literally). Today, we're leaving for Camp Half-Blood that's located at Long Island

I'm hyper to get to the camp. Charlie seems to be glad as well. However, El was all silent and gloomy. I don't even know what gets to him..

We will fly for Long Island at two, but we have arrived at the airport at eight in the morning since Dexter and my mom should sail for the Skyes' summer villa at Prince Edward Island at ten and no one would take us to the airport then. One funny thing I noticed some time ago, Mom and Dexter never took flight anywhere. Dexter travels a lot but he always finds a way to avoid taking flight. He also never goes to any business meeting out of the US and has someone else go in his place.

"Have you brought your rubber flip flops? You don't forget everything, do you?" Mom interrogates us like a worrywart as usual.

"Yes, Mom," I reply unwillingly.

"El, Charlie, keep an eye on Zeta, won't you? I hope she won't be any trouble..."

"I'll be okay, Mom!"

"Don't worry, Mrs. Skye, we'll take care of her," Charlie replies.

"Too bad we should leave now; I actually hope we could accompany you, but..."

"It's okay, Mrs. Skye," Elvis says.

"Oh, goodbye kids! See you next fall! Take care!" Mom smiles before. No word from my silent stepfather as usual, but I notice him glancing at me as he walks away with my mother.

An hour before our flight, the three of us waited in the executive lounge. We will depart in fifteen minutes. Elvis is asleep; Charlie is having fun trying to read a newspaper.

"Although the letters get mixed in our eyes, sometimes the letters seem to reform and make a new word and it can be funny!" (_Author's note: I'm referring to the scenes where Percy is trying to read, but he misread due to his dyslexia and the meaning was totally different and funny. Like: _'A half blood of the eldest dogs')

I don't know if it's just my feeling or not, but I think there's rainbow shade on the water, just like on bubbles. Then I start hallucinating of a view on the water surface. I think I'm seeing a man at early 20s looking at me. His shaggy jet-black hair is cut short and he dresses in all black.

"Uh, excuse me;" now I'm imagining that man talking, "Do you by any chance know Charles Mitchell or Elvis Lacroix?"

What's with me? This is by far the WEIRDEST vision I've ever had. I've seen bull-man eyeing me from the dark or some kind of lion hybrid, but NEVER someone who looks completely normal appearing on the surface of water I shake my head, hoping that the view would disappear, but the man-in-black is still on the water, "Hello?"

"...Charlie... Charlie!" I call.

"What's up, Z?" Char turned away from his paper.

"I think... I think I see something on the water...," I say hesitantly.

Charlie stands up and gazes on the water for a second, "Nico, is that you?"

I give Charlie a confused look. "This is what we call IM, Zeta, Iris Message," Charlie explains, then he introduces me to the Man-In-Black, "Z, this is Nico di Angelo; Nico, this is Zeta Skye."

Nico. He must be the one Char and El talking about; the son of Hades. He does have that kind of gloomy look that reminds one of death, "...err... Hi."

"Hello," he says, but he quickly turns to Charlie. It seems that he is in a hurry, "So she's the girl, Char?"

"Yes. Have you got any info?"

"Well… I haven't got to talk to Father yet. I'll try my best, okay? But I think you'd better get her to the camp as soon as possible, in case something happens."

I hear roaring thunder. What have I done?

I look around, is anyone hit? No. It's a normal thunder out there. Guess I'm rather paranoid.

"You got me, right?" another sound comes out of the water.

"Yes, we are departing in, say, ten minutes? See you, Nico."

The view in the water disappears, so does the rainbow shade, "So, what's up?" I ask awkwardly.

"Well, basically, nothing new. We just have to go to the camp ASAP, which means in a minute!" Charlie replies.

Soon there is a call from the airport officer. Supposing we should get on board at once, I wake Elvis up, "We are very sorry, dear passengers, but our plane to Long Island scheduled on 2.00 p.m. is lost in the storm. The thunderstorm is also currently very fierce on the route to Long Island so the departure will be cancelled. Our officers will contact you so you can get your refund for the tickets, thank you."

WHAT???


End file.
